The present invention is generally directed to stacking devices and covers for beer kegs, and more particularly to covers to install onto a keg over the entire top surface of the keg, including over the keg opening or bung, to keep the top surface clean and facilitate vertical stacking of kegs.
Draft beer is sold by brewers and distributors in kegs. A keg generally is a stainless steel or aluminum barrel-shaped container that holds liquid contents, such as beer, under pressure. An opening at one end of the keg, also called the bung, houses a self-closing valve. The valve may be opened by a coupling fitting when the keg is tapped. An upstanding rim extends from the outer wall and around the bung. The top of the rim may be rolled to form a curved top edge. Hand grips are formed in the sidewalls of the rim, such as oval shaped openings spaced apart from the top of the rim, by which the top of the keg may be lifted for moving the keg from one location to another.
Sometimes the top of the keg bung may be covered with a cap to protect the valve during transit and storage before the keg is tapped. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,188. However, no means is provided to protect the entire top surface of the keg from contaminants.
Beer brewers often have stylized tap handles that may be used in conjunction with dispensing their particular beer from their beer kegs. Some breweries require bar and restaurant owners to pay a deposit fee for the tap handle to be used to dispense the beer from an individual keg, and to return the tap handle upon returning the emptied keg. Invariably, the tap handles are separated from the kegs. No means is provided to keep the tap handle together with the beer keg when the kegs are in transit or stored prior to tapping.
Bars and restaurants frequently lack sufficient storage space for multiple beer kegs. When kegs are stored on their rounded sides, they can be unstable and roll. When kegs are stored in upright position, it can be difficult to stack them one on top the other due to the combination of a dished top surface that angles downwardly from the bung with the raised hand grip rim at the outer periphery. The keg tops lack flat surfaces conducive to stacking. Notwithstanding these limitations, bar and restaurant staff often try to stack kegs to fit them within the limited storage space available, creating hazards.
Some attachments for kegs to permit stacking are known. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. D327,604; D331,349; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,224,678 and 6,657,871. None of these cover the entire top surfaces of the keg to prevent contamination or solve the problem of keeping tap handles together with their associated kegs.
Therefore, improvements to keg covers continue to be sought.